Canola variety 18UU2731R

ABSTRACT

Provided is a canola variety designated 18UU2731R and seed, plants and plant parts thereof produced from a cross of inbred varieties. Methods for producing a canola variety comprise crossing canola variety 18UU2731R with another canola plant. Methods for producing a canola plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into 18UU2731R through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the canola seed, plant and plant part produced thereby are described. Canola variety 18UU2731R, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, plant parts and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of canola variety 18UU2731R are disclosed.

BACKGROUND

The present discovery relates to a novel rapeseed variety designated18UU2731R which is the result of years of careful breeding andselection. The variety is of high quality and possesses a relatively lowlevel of erucic acid in the vegetable oil component and a relatively lowlevel of glucosinolate content in the meal component to be termed“canola” in accordance with the terminology commonly used by plantscientists.

The goal of plant breeding is to combine in a single variety or hybridvarious desirable traits. For field crops, these traits may includeresistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to heat and drought,reducing the time to crop maturity, greater yield, and better agronomicquality. With mechanical harvesting of many crops, uniformity of plantcharacteristics such as germination and stand establishment, growthrate, maturity, and plant and pod height should be maintained.Traditional plant breeding is an important tool in developing new andimproved commercial crops such as canola.

SUMMARY

A novel Brassica napus variety designated 18UU2731R is provided. Seedsof the 18UU2731R variety, plants of the 18UU2731R variety, and methodsfor producing a canola plant by crossing the 18UU2731R variety withitself or another canola plant (whether by use of male sterility or openpollination), and methods for producing a canola plant containing in itsgenetic material one or more transgenes, and to transgenic plantsproduced by that method are provided. Canola seeds and plants producedby crossing the variety 18UU2731R with another line.

The 18UU2731R plant may further comprise a cytoplasmic or nuclear factorcapable of conferring male sterility or otherwise preventingself-pollination, such as by self-incompatibility. Parts of the canolaplants disclosed herein are also provided, for example, pollen or ovulesobtained from the plant.

Seed of the Canola line 18UU2731R are provided and may be provided as apopulation of canola seed of the variety designated 18UU2731R.

Compositions are provided comprising a seed of canola line 18UU2731Rcomprised in plant seed growth media. In certain embodiments, the plantseed growth media is a soil or synthetic cultivation medium. In specificembodiments, the growth medium may be comprised in a container or may,for example, be soil in a field.

Canola line 18UU2731R is provided comprising an added heritable trait.The heritable trait may be a genetic locus that is a dominant orrecessive allele. In certain embodiments, the genetic locus conferstraits such as, for example, male sterility, herbicide tolerance orresistance, insect resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, nematodeor viral disease, and altered or modified fatty acid, phytate, proteinor carbohydrate metabolism. The genetic locus may be a naturallyoccurring canola gene introduced into the genome of a parent of thevariety by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation or modification,or a transgene introduced through genetic transformation techniques.When introduced through transformation, a genetic locus may comprise oneor more transgenes integrated at a single chromosomal location.

Canola line 18UU2731R is provided, wherein a cytoplasmically-inheritedtrait has been introduced into the plant. An exemplarycytoplasmically-inherited trait is the male sterility trait.Cytoplasmic-male sterility (CMS) is a pollen abortion phenomenondetermined by the interaction between the genes in the cytoplasm and thenucleus. Alteration in the mitochondrial genome and the lack of restorergenes in the nucleus will lead to pollen abortion. With either a normalcytoplasm or the presence of restorer gene(s) in the nucleus, the plantwill produce pollen normally. A CMS plant can be pollinated by amaintainer version of the same variety, which has a normal cytoplasm butlacks the restorer gene(s) in the nucleus, and continues to be malesterile in the next generation. The male fertility of a CMS plant can berestored by a restorer version of the same variety, which must have therestorer gene(s) in the nucleus. With the restorer gene(s) in thenucleus, the offspring of the male-sterile plant can produce normalpollen grains and propagate. A cytoplasmically inherited trait may be anaturally occurring canola trait or a trait introduced through genetictransformation techniques.

A tissue culture of regenerable cells of a plant of variety 18UU2731R isprovided. The tissue culture can be capable of regenerating plantscapable of expressing all of the physiological and morphological orphenotypic characteristics of the variety and of regenerating plantshaving substantially the same genotype as other plants of the variety.Examples of some of the physiological and morphological characteristicsof the variety 18UU2731R include characteristics related to yield,maturity, and seed quality. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may, for example, be derived from embryos, meristematic cells,microspores, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, flowers, husks,or stalks, or from callus or protoplasts derived from those tissues.Canola plants regenerated from the tissue cultures, the plants havingall the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety18UU2731R are also provided.

A method of introducing a desired trait into canola line 18UU2731R isprovided in which a 18UU2731R plant is crossed with a different canolaplant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1 progeny plants. Thedesired trait can be one or more of male sterility, herbicideresistance, insect resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism, modified seed yield, modified oil percent,modified protein percent, modified lodging resistance and resistance tobacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease. The one or moreprogeny plants that have the desired trait are selected to produceselected progeny plants and crossed with the 18UU2731R plants to producebackcross progeny plants. The backcross progeny plants that have thedesired trait and essentially all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of canola line 18UU2731R are selected to produceselected backcross progeny plants; and these steps are repeated three ormore times to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny plantsthat comprise the desired trait and essentially all of the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of canola line 18UU2731R, such aslisted in Table 1. Also provided is the plant produced by the methodwherein the plant has the desired trait and essentially all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of canola line18UU2731R, such as listed in Table 1.

Definitions

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to aid in a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification, the following definitions and evaluation criteria areprovided.

Anther Fertility. The ability of a plant to produce pollen; measured bypollen production. 1=sterile, 9=all anthers shedding pollen (vs. PollenFormation which is amount of pollen produced).

Anther Arrangement. The general disposition of the anthers in typicalfully opened flowers is observed.

Chlorophyll Content. The typical chlorophyll content of the mature seedsis determined by using methods recommended by the Western CanadaCanola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee (WCC/RRC). 1=low (less than 8ppm), 2=medium (8 to 15 ppm), 3=high (greater than 15 ppm). Also,chlorophyll could be analyzed using NIR (Near Infrared) spectroscopy aslong as the instrument is calibrated according to the manufacturer'sspecifications.

CMS. Abbreviation for cytoplasmic male sterility.

Cotyledon. A cotyledon is a part of the embryo within the seed of aplant; it is also referred to as a seed leaf. Upon germination, thecotyledon may become the embryonic first leaf of a seedling.

Cotyledon Length. The distance between the indentation at the top of thecotyledon and the point where the width of the petiole is approximately4 mm.

Cotyledon Width. The width at the widest point of the cotyledon when theplant is at the two to three-leaf stage of development. 3=narrow,5=medium, 7=wide.

CV %: Abbreviation for coefficient of variation.

Disease Resistance: Resistance to various diseases is evaluated and isexpressed on a scale of 0=not tested, 1=resistant, 3=moderatelyresistant, 5=moderately susceptible, 7=susceptible, and 9=highlysusceptible.

Erucic Acid Content: The percentage of the fatty acids in the form ofC22:1.as determined by one of the methods recommended by the WCC/RRC,being AOCS Official Method Ce 2-66 Preparation of Methyl esters ofLong-Chain Fatty Acids or AOCS Official Method Ce 1-66 Fatty AcidComposition by Gas Chromatography.

Fatty Acid Content: The typical percentages by weight of fatty acidspresent in the endogenously formed oil of the mature whole dried seedsare determined. During such determination the seeds are crushed and areextracted as fatty acid methyl esters following reaction with methanoland sodium methoxide. Next the resulting ester is analyzed for fattyacid content by gas liquid chromatography using a capillary column whichallows separation on the basis of the degree of unsaturation and fattyacid chain length.

Flower Bud Location. A determination is made whether typical buds aredisposed above or below the most recently opened flowers.

Flower Date 50%. (Same as Time to Flowering) The number of days fromplanting until 50% of the plants in a planted area have at least oneopen flower.

Flower Petal Coloration or Flower Color. The coloration of open exposedpetals on the first day of flowering is observed.

Frost Tolerance (Spring Type Only). The ability of young plants towithstand late spring frosts at a typical growing area is evaluated andis expressed on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

Gene Silencing. The interruption or suppression of the expression of agene at the level of transcription or translation.

Genotype. Refers to the genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Glucosinolate Content. The total glucosinolates of seed at 8.5%moisture, as measured by AOCS Official Method AK-1-92 (determination ofglucosinolates content in rapeseed-colza by HPLC), is expressed asmicromoles per gram of defatted, oil-free meal. Capillary gaschromatography of the trimethylsityl derivatives of extracted andpurified desulfoglucosinolates with optimization to obtain optimumindole glucosinolate detection is described in “Procedures of theWestern Canada Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee Incorporated forthe Evaluation and Recommendation for Registration of Canola/RapeseedCandidate Cultivars in Western Canada”. Also, glucosinolates could beanalyzed using NIR (Near Infrared) spectroscopy as long as theinstrument is calibrated according to the manufacturer's specifications.

Grain. Seed produced by the plant or a self or sib of the plant that isintended for food or feed use.

Green Seed. The number of seeds that are distinctly green throughout asdefined by the Canadian Grain Commission. Expressed as a percentage ofseeds tested.

Growth Habit or Plant Growth Habit: The growth habit of canola refers toits overall shape and form, and should be observed about 4 weeks postplanting. Growth Habit is scored on a range of 1-7, with 1 being leavesflat to the ground and 7 being leaves bunched to the stem.

Herbicide Resistance: Resistance to various herbicides when applied atstandard recommended application rates is expressed on a scale of 1(resistant), 2 (tolerant), or 3 (susceptible).

Leaf Anthocyanin Coloration. The presence or absence of leaf anthocyanincoloration, and the degree thereof if present, are observed when theplant has reached the 9- to 11-leaf stage.

Leaf Attachment to Stem. The presence or absence of clasping where theleaf attaches to the stem, and when present the degree thereof, areobserved.

Leaf Attitude. The disposition of typical leaves with respect to thepetiole is observed when at least 6 leaves of the plant are formed.

Leaf Color or Leaf Blade Color. The leaf blade coloration is observedwhen at least six leaves of the plant are completely developed.

Leaf Glaucosity or Leaf Waxiness. The presence or absence of a finewhitish powdery coating on the surface of the leaves, and the degreethereof when present, are observed.

Leaf Length. The length of the leaf blades and petioles are observedwhen at least six leaves of the plant are completely developed.

Leaf Lobes. The fully developed upper stem leaves are observed for thepresence or absence of leaf lobes when at least 6 leaves of the plantare completely developed.

Leaf Margin Indentation. A rating of the depth of the indentations alongthe upper third of the margin of the largest leaf. 1=absent or very weak(very shallow), 3=weak (shallow), 5=medium, 7=strong (deep), 9=verystrong (very deep).

Leaf Margin Hairiness. The leaf margins of the first leaf are observedfor the presence or absence of pubescence, and the degree thereof, whenthe plant is at the two leaf-stage.

Leaf Margin Shape. A visual rating of the indentations along the upperthird of the margin of the largest leaf. 1=undulating, 2=rounded,3=sharp.

Leaf Surface. The leaf surface is observed for the presence or absenceof wrinkles when at least six leaves of the plant are completelydeveloped.

Leaf Tip Reflexion. The presence or absence of bending of typical leaftips and the degree thereof, if present, are observed at the six toeleven leaf-stage.

Leaf Upper Side Hairiness. The upper surfaces of the leaves are observedfor the presence or absence of hairiness, and the degree thereof ifpresent, when at least six leaves of the plant are formed.

Leaf Width. The width of the leaf blades is observed when at least sixleaves of the plant are completely developed.

Locus. A specific location on a chromosome.

Locus Conversion. A locus conversion refers to plants within a varietythat have been modified in a manner that retains the overall genetics ofthe variety and further comprises one or more loci with a specificdesired trait, such as male sterility, insect, disease or herbicideresistance. Examples of single locus conversions include mutant genes,transgenes and native traits finely mapped to a single locus. One ormore locus conversion traits may be introduced into a single canolavariety.

Lodging Resistance. Resistance to lodging at maturity is observed. 1=nottested, 3=poor, 5=fair, 7=good, 9=excellent.

LSD. Abbreviation for least significant difference.

Maturity. The number of days from planting to maturity is observed, withmaturity being defined as the plant stage when pods with seed changecolor, occurring from green to brown or black, on the bottom third ofthe pod-bearing area of the main stem.

NMS. Abbreviation for nuclear male sterility.

Number of Leaf Lobes. The frequency of leaf lobes, when present, isobserved when at least six leaves of the plant are completely developed.

Oil Content: The typical percentage by weight oil present in the maturewhole dried seeds is determined by ISO 10565:1993 Oilseeds Simultaneousdetermination of oil and water—Pulsed NMR method. Also, oil could beanalyzed using NIR (Near Infrared) spectroscopy as long as theinstrument is calibrated according to the manufacturer's specifications,reference AOCS Procedure Am 1-92 Determination of Oil, Moisture andVolatile Matter, and Protein by Near-Infrared Reflectance.

Pedicel Length. The typical length of the silique stem when mature isobserved. 3=short, 5=medium, 7=long.

Petal Length. The lengths of typical petals of fully opened flowers areobserved. 3=short, 5=medium, 7=long.

Petal Spacing. Flower petal spacing is the measurement of how the petalsare arranged in the flower. The petals should be observed when flowersare fully open, but not wilted. Spacing is rated on a scale of 1-9, 1being thin petals with a large space between them, and 9 being largeleaved with a strong overlap.

Petal Width. The widths of typical petals of fully opened flowers areobserved. 3=short, 5=medium, 7=long.

Petiole Length. The length of the petioles is observed, in a lineforming lobed leaves, when at least six leaves of the plant arecompletely developed. 3=short, 5=medium, 7=long.

Plant Height. The overall plant height at the end of flowering isobserved. When coded 3=short, 5=medium, 7=tall.

Ploidy. This refers to the number of chromosomes exhibited by the line,for example diploid or tetraploid.

Pod Anthocyanin Coloration. The presence or absence at maturity ofsilique anthocyanin coloration, and the degree thereof if present, areobserved.

Pod (Silique) Beak Length. The typical length of the silique beak whenmature is observed. 3=short, 5=medium, 7=long.

Pod Habit. The typical manner in which the siliques are borne on theplant at maturity is observed.

Pod (Silique) Length. The typical silique length is observed. 1=short(less than 7 cm), 5=medium (7 to 10 cm), 9=long (greater than 10 cm).

Pod (Silique) Attitude. A visual rating of the angle joining the pedicelto the pod at maturity. 1=erect, 3=semi-erect, 5=horizontal,7=semi-drooping, 9=drooping.

Pod Type. The overall configuration of the silique is observed.

Pod (Silique) Width. The typical pod width when mature is observed.3=narrow (3 mm), 5=medium (4 mm), 7=wide (5 mm).

Pollen Formation. The relative level of pollen formation is observed atthe time of dehiscence.

Protein Content: The typical percentage by weight of protein in the oilfree meal of the mature whole dried seeds is determined by AOCS OfficialMethod Ba 4e-93 Combustion Method for the Determination of CrudeProtein. Also, protein could be analyzed using NIR (Near Infrared)spectroscopy as long as the instrument is calibrated according to themanufacturer's specifications, reference AOCS Procedure Am 1-92Determination of Oil, Moisture and Volatile Matter, and Protein byNear-Infrared Reflectance.

Resistance. The ability of a plant to withstand exposure to an insect,disease, herbicide, or other condition. A resistant plant variety orhybrid will have a level of resistance higher than a comparablewild-type variety or hybrid. “Tolerance” is a term commonly used incrops such as canola, soybean, and sunflower affected by an insect,disease, such as Sclerotinia, herbicide, or other condition and is usedto describe an improved level of field resistance.

Root Anthocyanin Coloration. The presence or absence of anthocyanincoloration in the skin at the top of the root is observed when the planthas reached at least the six-leaf stage.

Root Anthocyanin Expression. When anthocyanin coloration is present inskin at the top of the root, it further is observed for the exhibitionof a reddish or bluish cast within such coloration when the plant hasreached at least the six-leaf stage.

Root Anthocyanin Streaking. When anthocyanin coloration is present inthe skin at the top of the root, it further is observed for the presenceor absence of streaking within such coloration when the plant hasreached at least the six-leaf stage.

Root Chlorophyll Coloration. The presence or absence of chlorophyllcoloration in the skin at the top of the root is observed when the planthas reached at least the six-leaf stage.

Root Coloration Below Ground. The coloration of the root skin belowground is observed when the plant has reached at least the six-leafstage.

Root Depth in Soil. The typical root depth is observed when the planthas reached at least the six-leaf stage.

Root Flesh Coloration. The internal coloration of the root flesh isobserved when the plant has reached at least the six-leaf stage.

SE. Abbreviation for standard error.

Seedling Growth Habit. The growth habit of young seedlings is observedfor the presence of a weak or strong rosette character. 1=weak rosette,9=strong rosette.

Seeds Per Pod. The average number of seeds per pod is observed.

Seed Coat Color. The seed coat color of typical mature seeds isobserved. 1=black, 2=brown, 3=tan, 4=yellow, 5=mixed, 6=other.

Seed Coat Mucilage. The presence or absence of mucilage on the seed coatis determined and is expressed on a scale of 1 (absent) to 9 (present).During such determination a petri dish is filled to a depth of 0.3 cm.with water provided at room temperature. Seeds are added to the petridish and are immersed in water where they are allowed to stand for fiveminutes. The contents of the petri dish containing the immersed seedsare then examined under a stereo microscope equipped with transmittedlight. The presence of mucilage and the level thereof is observed as theintensity of a halo surrounding each seed.

Seed Size. The weight in grams of 1,000 typical seeds is determined atmaturity while such seeds exhibit a moisture content of approximately 5to 6 percent by weight.

Shatter Resistance. Resistance to silique shattering is observed at seedmaturity. 1=not tested, 3=poor, 5=fair, 7=good, 9=does not shatter.

SI. Abbreviation for self-incompatible.

Speed of Root Formation. The typical speed of root formation is observedwhen the plant has reached the four to eleven-leaf stage.

SSFS. Abbreviation for Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Field Severity score, arating based on both percentage infection and disease severity.

Stem Anthocyanin Intensity. The presence or absence of leaf anthocyanincoloration and the intensity thereof, if present, are observed when theplant has reached the nine to eleven-leaf stage. 1=absent or very weak,3=weak, 5=medium, 7=strong, 9=very strong.

Stem Lodging at Maturity. A visual rating of a plant's ability to resiststem lodging at maturity. 1=very weak (lodged), 9=very strong (erect).

Time or Days to Flowering. A determination is made of the number of dayswhen at least 50 percent of the plants have one or more open buds on aterminal raceme in the year of sowing.

Seasonal Type. This refers to whether the new line is considered to beprimarily a Spring or Winter type of canola.

Winter Survival (Winter Type Only). The ability to withstand wintertemperatures at a typical growing area is evaluated and is expressed ona scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Field crops are bred through techniques that take advantage of theplant's method of pollination. A plant is self-pollinated if pollen fromone flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the sameplant or a genetically identical plant. A plant is sib-pollinated whenindividuals within the same family or line are used for pollination. Aplant is cross-pollinated if the pollen comes from a flower on agenetically different plant from a different family or line. The term“cross-pollination” used herein does not include self-pollination orsib-pollination.

Canola breeding programs utilize techniques such as mass and recurrentselection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding and haploidy.

Recurrent selection is used to improve populations of either self- orcross-pollinating Brassica. Through recurrent selection, a geneticallyvariable population of heterozygous individuals is created byintercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selectedbased on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, and/or excellentcombining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a newpopulation in which further cycles of selection are continued. Variousrecurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitativelyinherited traits controlled by numerous genes.

Breeding programs use backcross breeding to transfer genes for a simplyinherited, highly heritable trait into another line that serves as therecurrent parent. The source of the trait to be transferred is calledthe donor parent. After the initial cross, individual plants possessingthe desired trait of the donor parent are selected and are crossed(backcrossed) to the recurrent parent for several generations. Theresulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrentparent and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. Thisapproach has been used for breeding disease resistant phenotypes of manyplant species, and has been used to transfer low erucic acid and lowglucosinolate content into lines and breeding populations of Brassica.

Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used todevelop varieties from breeding populations. Pedigree breeding startswith the crossing of two genotypes, each of which may have one or moredesirable characteristics that is lacking in the other or whichcomplements the other. If the two original parents do not provide all ofthe desired characteristics, other sources can be included in thebreeding population. In the pedigree method, superior plants are selfedand selected in successive generations. In the succeeding generationsthe heterozygous condition gives way to homogeneous lines as a result ofself-pollination and selection. Typically, in the pedigree method ofbreeding, five or more generations of selfing and selection arepracticed: F₁ to F₂; F₂ to F₃; F₃ to F₄; F₄ to F₅, etc. For example, twoparents that are believed to possess favorable complementary traits arecrossed to produce an F₁. An F₂ population is produced by selfing one orseveral F₁'s or by intercrossing two F₁'s (i.e., sib mating). Selectionof the best individuals may begin in the F₂ population, and beginning inthe F₃ the best individuals in the best families are selected.Replicated testing of families can begin in the F₄ generation to improvethe effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At anadvanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines ormixtures of phenotypically similar lines commonly are tested forpotential release as new cultivars. Backcrossing may be used inconjunction with pedigree breeding; for example, a combination ofbackcrossing and pedigree breeding with recurrent selection has beenused to incorporate blackleg resistance into certain cultivars ofBrassica napus.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type for manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny. If desired, double-haploidmethods can also be used to extract homogeneous lines. A cross betweentwo different homozygous lines produces a uniform population of hybridplants that may be heterozygous for many gene loci. A cross of twoplants each heterozygous at a number of gene loci will produce apopulation of hybrid plants that differ genetically and will not beuniform.

The choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thetype of cultivar used commercially, such as F₁ hybrid variety or openpollinated variety. A true breeding homozygous line can also be used asa parental line (inbred line) in a commercial hybrid. If the line isbeing developed as an inbred for use in a hybrid, an appropriatepollination control system should be incorporated in the line.Suitability of an inbred line in a hybrid combination will depend uponthe combining ability (general combining ability or specific combiningability) of the inbred.

Various breeding procedures are also utilized with these breeding andselection methods. The single-seed descent procedure in the strict senserefers to planting a segregating population, harvesting a sample of oneseed per plant, and using the one-seed sample to plant the nextgeneration. When the population has been advanced from the F₂ to thedesired level of inbreeding, the plants from which lines are derivedwill each trace to different F₂ individuals. The number of plants in apopulation declines each generation due to failure of some seeds togerminate or some plants to produce at least one seed. As a result, notall of the F₂ plants originally sampled in the population will berepresented by a progeny when generation advance is completed.

In a multiple-seed procedure, canola breeders commonly harvest one ormore pods from each plant in a population and thresh them together toform a bulk. Part of the bulk is used to plant the next generation andpart is put in reserve. The procedure has been referred to as modifiedsingle-seed descent or the pod-bulk technique. The multiple-seedprocedure has been used to save labor at harvest. It is considerablyfaster to thresh pods with a machine than to remove one seed from eachby hand for the single-seed procedure. The multiple-seed procedure alsomakes it possible to plant the same number of seeds of a population eachgeneration of inbreeding. Enough seeds are harvested to make up forthose plants that did not germinate or produce seed. If desired,doubled-haploid methods can be used to extract homogeneous lines.

Molecular markers, including techniques such as Isozyme Electrophoresis,Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs),

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPD),

Arbitrarily Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),

DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs), SimpleSequence Repeats (SSRs) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), maybe used in plant breeding methods. One use of molecular markers isQuantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping. QTL mapping is the use of markerswhich are known to be closely linked to alleles that have measurableeffects on a quantitative trait. Selection in the breeding process isbased upon the accumulation of markers linked to the positive effectingalleles and/or the elimination of the markers linked to the negativeeffecting alleles in the plant's genome.

Molecular markers can also be used during the breeding process for theselection of qualitative traits. For example, markers closely linked toalleles or markers containing sequences within the actual alleles ofinterest can be used to select plants that contain the alleles ofinterest during a backcrossing breeding program. The markers can also beused to select for the genome of the recurrent parent and against themarkers of the donor parent. Using this procedure can minimize theamount of genome from the donor parent that remains in the selectedplants. It can also be used to reduce the number of crosses back to therecurrent parent needed in a backcrossing program. The use of molecularmarkers in the selection process is often called Genetic Marker EnhancedSelection or Marker Assisted Selection (MAS).

The production of doubled haploids can also be used for the developmentof inbreds in the breeding program. In Brassica napus, microsporeculture technique may be used to produce haploid embryos. The haploidembryos are then regenerated on appropriate media as haploid plantlets,doubling chromosomes of which results in doubled haploid plants. Thiscan be advantageous because the process omits the generations of selfingneeded to obtain a homozygous plant from a heterozygous source.

The development of a canola hybrid in a canola plant breeding programinvolves three steps: (1) the selection of plants from various germplasmpools for initial breeding crosses; (2) the selfing of the selectedplants from the breeding crosses for several generations to produce aseries of inbred lines, which, although different from each other, breedtrue and are highly uniform; and (3) crossing the selected inbred lineswith different inbred lines to produce the hybrids. During theinbreeding process in canola, the vigor of the lines decreases. Vigor isrestored when two different inbred lines are crossed to produce thehybrid. A consequence of the homozygosity and homogeneity of the inbredlines is that the hybrid between a defined pair of inbreds will alwaysbe the same. Once the inbreds that give a superior hybrid have beenidentified, the hybrid seed can be reproduced indefinitely as long asthe homogeneity of the inbred parents is maintained.

18UU2731R may also be used to produce a double cross hybrid or athree-way hybrid. A single cross hybrid is produced when two inbredvarieties are crossed to produce the F1 progeny. A double cross hybridis produced from four inbred varieties crossed in pairs (A×B and C×D)and then the two F1 hybrids are crossed again (A×B)×(C×D). A three-waycross hybrid is produced from three inbred varieties where two of theinbred varieties are crossed (A×B) and then the resulting F1 hybrid iscrossed with the third inbred variety (A×B)×C. In each case, pericarptissue from the female parent will be a part of and protect the hybridseed.

Another form of commercial hybrid production involves the use of amixture of male sterile hybrid seed and male pollinator seed. Whenplanted, the resulting male sterile hybrid plants are pollinated by thepollinator plants. This method can be used to produce grain withenhanced quality grain traits, such as high oil. One use of this methodis described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,160 and 5,706,603.

Molecular data from 18UU2731R may be used in a plant breeding process.Nucleic acids may be isolated from a seed of 18UU2731R or from a plant,plant part, or cell produced by growing a seed of 18UU2731R or from aseed of 18UU2731R with a locus conversion, or from a plant, plant part,or cell of 18UU2731R with a locus conversion. One or more polymorphismsmay be isolated from the nucleic acids. A plant having one or more ofthe identified polymorphisms may be selected and used in a plantbreeding method to produce another plant.

Phenotypic Characteristics of 18UU2731R

Hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R is a single cross canola variety and canbe made by crossing inbreds G5264590R and G2373305. Locus conversions ofhybrid canola variety 18UU2731R can be made by crossing inbredsG5264590R and G2373305 wherein G5264590R and/or G2373305 comprise alocus conversion(s).

The canola variety has shown uniformity and stability within the limitsof environmental influence for all the traits as described herein (see,e.g. Table 1). The inbred parents of this canola variety have beenself-pollinated a sufficient number of generations with carefulattention paid to uniformity of plant type to ensure the homozygosityand phenotypic stability necessary for use in commercial hybrid seedproduction. The variety has been increased both by hand and in isolatedfields with continued observation for uniformity. No variant traits havebeen observed or are expected in 18UU2731R.

Hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R can be reproduced by planting seeds ofthe inbred parent varieties, growing the resulting canola plants undercross pollinating conditions, and harvesting the resulting seed usingtechniques familiar to the agricultural arts.

Controlling Self-Pollination

Canola varieties are mainly self-pollinated. A pollination controlsystem and effective transfer of pollen from one parent to the otherprovides an effective method for producing hybrid canola seed andplants. For example, the ogura cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system,developed via protoplast fusion between radish (Raphanus sativus) andrapeseed (Brassica napus), is one of the most frequently used methods ofhybrid production. It provides stable expression of the male sterilitytrait and an effective nuclear restorer gene. The OGU INRA restorergene, Rf1 originating from radish has improved versions.

Brassica hybrid varieties can be developed using self-incompatible (SI),cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) or nuclear male sterile (NMS) Brassicaplants as the female parent such that only cross pollination will occurbetween the hybrid parents.

In one instance, production of F₁ hybrids includes crossing a CMSBrassica female parent with a pollen-producing male Brassica has afertility restorer gene (Rf gene). The presence of an Rf gene means thatthe F₁ generation will not be completely or partially sterile, so thateither self-pollination or cross pollination may occur. Self pollinationof the F₁ generation to produce several subsequent generations verifiesthat a desired trait is heritable and stable and that a new variety hasbeen isolated.

Other sources and refinements of CMS sterility in canola include thePolima cytoplasmic male sterile plant, as well as those of U.S. Pat. No.5,789,566, DNA sequence imparting cytoplasmic male sterility,mitochondrial genome, nuclear genome, mitochondria and plant containingsaid sequence and process for the preparation of hybrids; See U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,658,085, 5,973,233 and 6,229,072.

Hybrid Development

As a result of the advances in sterility systems, lines are developedthat can be used as an open pollinated variety (i.e., a purelinecultivar) and/or as a sterile inbred (female) used in the production ofF₁ hybrid seed. In the latter case, favorable combining ability with arestorer (male) would be desirable.

The development of a canola hybrid generally involves three steps: (1)the selection of plants from various germplasm pools for initialbreeding crosses; (2) generation of inbred lines, such as by selfing ofselected plants from the breeding crosses for several generations toproduce a series of different inbred lines, which breed true and arehighly uniform; and (3) crossing the selected inbred lines withdifferent inbred lines to produce the hybrids.

Combining ability of a line, as well as the performance of the line perse, is a factor in the selection of improved canola lines that may beused as inbreds. Combining ability refers to a line's contribution as aparent when crossed with other lines to form hybrids. The hybrids formedfor the purpose of selecting superior lines are designated test crosses.One way of measuring combining ability is by using breeding values.Breeding values are based on the overall mean of a number of testcrosses. This mean is then adjusted to remove environmental effects andit is adjusted for known genetic relationships among the lines.

Brassica napus canola plants, absent the use of sterility systems, arerecognized to commonly be self-fertile with approximately 70 to 90percent of the seed normally forming as the result of self-pollination.The percentage of cross pollination may be further enhanced whenpopulations of recognized insect pollinators at a given growing site aregreater. Thus open pollination is often used in commercial canolaproduction.

Locus Conversions of Canola Variety 18UU2731R

18UU2731R represents a new base genetic line into which a new locus ortrait may be introduced. Direct transformation and backcrossingrepresent two methods that can be used to accomplish such anintrogression. The term locus conversion is used to designate theproduct of such an introgression.

Backcrossing can be used to improve inbred varieties and a hybridvariety which is made using those inbreds. Backcrossing can be used totransfer a specific desirable trait from one variety, the donor parent,to an inbred called the recurrent parent which has overall goodagronomic characteristics yet that lacks the desirable trait. Thistransfer of the desirable trait into an inbred with overall goodagronomic characteristics can be accomplished by first crossing arecurrent parent to a donor parent (non-recurrent parent). The progenyof this cross is then mated back to the recurrent parent followed byselection in the resultant progeny for the desired trait to betransferred from the non-recurrent parent.

Traits may be used by those of ordinary skill in the art to characterizeprogeny. Traits are commonly evaluated at a significance level, such asa 1%, 5% or 10% significance level, when measured in plants grown in thesame environmental conditions. For example, a locus conversion of18UU2731R may be characterized as having essentially the same phenotypictraits as 18UU2731R. The traits used for comparison may be those traitsshown in any of the tables herein. Molecular markers can also be usedduring the breeding process for the selection of qualitative traits. Forexample, markers can be used to select plants that contain the allelesof interest during a backcrossing breeding program. The markers can alsobe used to select for the genome of the recurrent parent and against thegenome of the donor parent. Using this procedure can minimize the amountof genome from the donor parent that remains in the selected plants.

A locus conversion of 18UU2731R may contain at least 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5locus conversions, and fewer than 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, or 6 locusconversions. A locus conversion of 18UU2731R will otherwise retain thegenetic integrity of 18UU2731R. For example, a locus conversion of18UU2731R can be developed when DNA sequences are introduced throughbackcrossing, with a parent of 18UU2731R utilized as the recurrentparent. Both naturally occurring and transgenic DNA sequences may beintroduced through backcrossing techniques. A backcross conversion mayproduce a plant with a locus conversion in at least one or morebackcrosses, including at least 2 crosses, at least 3 crosses, at least4 crosses, at least 5 crosses and the like. Molecular marker assistedbreeding or selection may be utilized to reduce the number ofbackcrosses necessary to achieve the backcross conversion. For example,a backcross conversion can be made in as few as two backcrosses.

Disease—Sclerotinia

Sclerotinia infects over 100 species of plants, including Brassicaspecies. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is responsible for over 99% ofSclerotinia disease, while Sclerotinia minor produces less than 1% ofthe disease. Sclerotinia produces sclerotia, irregularly-shaped, darkoverwintering bodies, which can endure in soil for four to five years.The sclerotia can germinate carpogenically or myceliogenically,depending on the environmental conditions and crop canopies. The twotypes of germination cause two distinct types of diseases. Sclerotiathat germinate carpogenically produce apothecia and ascospores thatinfect above-ground tissues, resulting in stem blight, stalk rot, headrot, pod rot, white mold and blossom blight of plants. Sclerotia thatgerminate myceliogenically produce mycelia that infect root tissues,causing crown rot, root rot and basal stalk rot.

Sclerotinia causes Sclerotinia stem rot, also known as white mold, inBrassica, including canola. The disease is favored by moist soilconditions (at least 10 days at or near field capacity) and temperaturesof 15-25° C., prior to and during canola flowering. The spores cannotinfect leaves and stems directly; they must first land on flowers,fallen petals, and pollen on the stems and leaves. The fungal spores usethe flower parts as a food source as they germinate and infect theplant.

The severity of Sclerotinia in Brassica is variable, and is dependent onthe time of infection and climatic conditions, being favored by cooltemperatures between 20 and 25° C., prolonged precipitation and relativehumidities of greater than 80%. Losses ranging from 5 to 100% have beenreported for individual fields. Sclerotinia can cause heavy losses inwet swaths and result in economic losses of millions of dollars.

The symptoms of Sclerotinia infection usually develop several weeksafter flowering begins. The infections often develop where the leaf andthe stem join. Infected stems appear bleached and tend to shred. Hardblack fungal sclerotia develop within the infected stems, branches, orpods. Plants infected at flowering produce little or no seed. Plantswith girdled stems wilt and ripen prematurely. Severely infected cropsfrequently lodge, shatter at swathing, and make swathing more timeconsuming. Infections can occur in all above-ground plant parts,especially in dense or lodged stands, where plant-to-plant contactfacilitates the spread of infection. New sclerotia carry the diseaseover to the next season.

Conventional methods for control of Sclerotinia diseases include (a)chemical control (fungicides such as benomyl, vinclozolin, iprodione,azoxystrobin, prothioconazole, boscalid)., (b) disease resistance (suchas partial resistance and breeding for favorable morphologies such asincreased standability, reduced petal retention, branching (less compactand/or higher), and early leaf abscission) and (c) cultural control.

Methods for generating Sclerotinia resistant Brassica plants usinginbred line 18UU2731R are provided, including crossing with one or morelines containing one or more genes contributing to Sclerotiniaresistance and selecting for resistance.

In some embodiments, 18UU2731R can be modified to have resistance toSclerotinia.

Homogenous and reproducible canola hybrids are useful for the productionof a commercial crop on a reliable basis. There are a number ofanalytical methods available to determine the phenotypic stability of acanola hybrid.

Phenotypic characteristics most often are observed for traits associatedwith seed yield, seed oil content, seed protein content, fatty acidcomposition of oil, glucosinolate content of meal, growth habit, lodgingresistance, plant height, shatter resistance, etc. A plant's genotypecan be used to identify plants of the same variety or a related variety.For example, the genotype can be used to determine the pedigree of aplant. There are many laboratory-based techniques available for theanalysis, comparison and characterization of plant genotype; among theseare Isozyme Electrophoresis, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms(RFLPs), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), Arbitrarily PrimedPolymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting(DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), AmplifiedFragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs)which are also referred to as Microsatellites, and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs).

Particular markers used for these purposes may include any type ofmarker and marker profile which provides a means of distinguishingvarieties. A genetic marker profile can be used, for example, toidentify plants of the same variety or related varieties or to determineor validate a pedigree. In addition to being used for identification ofcanola variety 18UU2731R and its plant parts, the genetic marker profileis also useful in developing a locus conversion of 18UU2731R.

Methods of isolating nucleic acids from 18UU2731R and methods forperforming genetic marker profiles using SNP and SSR polymorphisms areprovided. SNPs are genetic markers based on a polymorphism in a singlenucleotide. A marker system based on SNPs can be highly informative inlinkage analysis relative to other marker systems in that multiplealleles may be present.

A method comprising isolating nucleic acids, such as DNA, from a plant,a plant part, plant cell or a seed of the canola varieties disclosedherein is provided. The method can include mechanical, electrical and/orchemical disruption of the plant, plant part, plant cell or seed,contacting the disrupted plant, plant part, plant cell or seed with abuffer or solvent, to produce a solution or suspension comprisingnucleic acids, optionally contacting the nucleic acids with aprecipitating agent to precipitate the nucleic acids, optionallyextracting the nucleic acids, and optionally separating the nucleicacids such as by centrifugation or by binding to beads or a column, withsubsequent elution, or a combination thereof. If DNA is being isolated,an RNase can be included in one or more of the method steps. The nucleicacids isolated can comprise all or substantially all of the genomic DNAsequence, all or substantially all of the chromosomal DNA sequence orall or substantially all of the coding sequences (cDNA) of the plant,plant part, or plant cell from which they were isolated. The nucleicacids isolated can comprise all, substantially all, or essentially allof the genetic complement of the plant. The nucleic acids isolated cancomprise a genetic complement of the canola variety. The amount and typeof nucleic acids isolated may be sufficient to permit whole genomesequencing of the plant from which they were isolated or chromosomalmarker analysis of the plant from which they were isolated.

The methods can be used to produce nucleic acids from the plant, plantpart, seed or cell, which nucleic acids can be, for example, analyzed toproduce data. The data can be recorded. The nucleic acids from thedisrupted cell, the disrupted plant, plant part, plant cell or seed orthe nucleic acids following isolation or separation can be contactedwith primers and nucleotide bases, and/or a polymerase to facilitate PCRsequencing or marker analysis of the nucleic acids. In some examples,the nucleic acids produced can be sequenced or contacted with markers toproduce a genetic profile, a molecular profile, a marker profile, ahaplotype, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the geneticprofile or nucleotide sequence is recorded on a computer readablemedium. In other examples, the methods may further comprise using thenucleic acids produced from plants, plant parts, plant cells or seeds ina plant breeding program, for example in making crosses, selectionand/or advancement decisions in a breeding program. Crossing includesany type of plant breeding crossing method, including but not limited tocrosses to produce hybrids, outcrossing, selfing, backcrossing, locusconversion, introgression and the like. Favorable genotypes and ormarker profiles, optionally associated with a trait of interest, may beidentified by one or more methodologies. In some examples one or moremarkers are used, including but not limited to restriction fragmentlength polymorphism (RFLP), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD),amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), inter-simple sequencerepeats (ISSRs), sequence characterized regions (SCARs), sequence tagsites (STSs), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS),microsatellites, simple sequence repeats (SSRs), expressed sequence tags(ESTs), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and diversity arraystechnology (DArT), sequencing, and the like. In some methods, a targetnucleic acid is amplified prior to hybridization with a probe. In othercases, the target nucleic acid is not amplified prior to hybridization,such as methods using molecular inversion probes. In some examples, thegenotype related to a specific trait is monitored, while in otherexamples, a genome-wide evaluation including but not limited to one ormore of marker panels, library screens, association studies,microarrays, gene chips, expression studies, or sequencing such aswhole-genome resequencing and genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) may beused. In some examples, no target-specific probe is needed, for exampleby using sequencing technologies, including but not limited tonext-generation sequencing methods (see, for example, Metzker (2010) NatRev Genet 11:31-46; and, Egan et al. (2012) Am J Bot 99:175-185) such assequencing by synthesis (e.g., Roche 454 pyrosequencing, Illumina GenomeAnalyzer, and Ion Torrent PGM or Proton systems), sequencing by ligation(e.g., SOLiD from Applied Biosystems, and Polnator system from AzcoBiotech), and single molecule sequencing (SMS or third-generationsequencing) which eliminate template amplification (e.g., Helicossystem, and PacBio RS system from Pacific BioSciences). Furthertechnologies include optical sequencing systems (e.g., Starlight fromLife Technologies), and nanopore sequencing (e.g., GridION from OxfordNanopore Technologies). Each of these may be coupled with one or moreenrichment strategies for organellar or nuclear genomes in order toreduce the complexity of the genome under investigation via PCR,hybridization, restriction enzyme (see, e.g., Elshire et al. (2011) PLoSONE 6:e19379), and expression methods. In some examples, no referencegenome sequence is needed in order to complete the analysis. 18UU2731Rand its plant parts can be identified through a molecular markerprofile. Such plant parts may be either diploid or haploid. Alsoencompassed and described are plants and plant parts substantiallybenefiting from the use of variety 18UU2731R in their development, suchas variety 18UU2731R comprising a locus conversion or single locusconversion.

In particular, a process of making seed substantially retaining themolecular marker profile of canola variety 18UU2731R is provided.Obtaining a seed of hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R further comprising alocus conversion, wherein representative seed is produced by crossing afirst plant of variety G5264590R or a locus conversion thereof with asecond plant of variety G2373305 or a locus conversion thereof, andwherein representative seed of said varieties G5264590R and G2373305have been deposited and wherein said canola variety 18UU2731R furthercomprising a locus conversion has 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or99% of the same polymorphisms for molecular markers as the plant orplant part of canola variety 18UU2731R. The type of molecular markerused in the molecular profile can be but is not limited to SingleNucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs. A process of making seed retainingessentially the same phenotypic, physiological, morphological or anycombination thereof characteristics of canola variety 18UU2731R is alsocontemplated. Obtaining a seed of hybrid canola variety 18UU2731Rfurther comprising a locus conversion, wherein representative seed isproduced by crossing a first plant of variety G5264590R or a locusconversion thereof with a second plant of variety G2373305 or a locusconversion thereof, and wherein representative seed of said varietiesG5264590R and G2373305 have been deposited and wherein said canolavariety 18UU2731R further comprising a locus conversion has essentiallythe same morphological characteristics as canola variety 18UU2731R whengrown in the same environmental conditions. The same environmentalconditions may be, but is not limited to, a side-by-side comparison. Thecharacteristics can be or include, for example, those listed in Table 1.The comparison can be made using any number of professionally acceptedexperimental designs and statistical analysis.

Hybrid 18UU2731R can be advantageously used in accordance with thebreeding methods described herein and those known in the art to producehybrids and other progeny plants retaining desired trait combinations of18UU2731R. Disclosed are methods for producing a canola plant bycrossing a first parent canola plant with a second parent canola plantwherein either the first or second parent canola plant is canola variety18UU2731R. Further, both first and second parent canola plants can comefrom the canola variety 18UU2731R. Either the first or the second parentplant may be male sterile. Methods for producing subsequent generationsof seed from seed of variety 18UU2731R, harvesting the subsequentgeneration of seed; and planting the subsequent generation of seed areprovided.

Still further provided are methods for producing a 18UU2731R-derivedcanola plant by crossing canola variety 18UU2731R with a second canolaplant and growing the progeny seed, and repeating the crossing andgrowing steps with the canola 18UU2731R-derived plant from at least 1, 2or 3 times and less than 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 or 2 times. Thus, any suchmethods using the canola variety 18UU2731R are part of this discovery:open pollination, selfing, backcrosses, hybrid production, crosses topopulations, and the like. All plants produced using canola variety18UU2731R as a parent are within the scope of this discovery, includingplants derived from canola variety 18UU2731R. This includes canola linesderived from 18UU2731R which include components for either malesterility or for restoration of fertility. Advantageously, the canolavariety is used in crosses with other, different, canola plants toproduce first generation (F₁) canola hybrid seeds and plants withsuperior characteristics.

The discovery also includes a single-gene locus conversion or a singlelocus conversion of 18UU2731R. A single locus conversion occurs when DNAsequences are introduced or modified through traditional breedingtechniques, such as backcrossing or through transformation. DNAsequences, whether naturally occurring, modified as disclosed herein, ortransgenes, may be introduced using traditional breeding techniques.Desired traits transferred through this process include, but are notlimited to, fertility restoration, fatty acid profile modification,other nutritional enhancements, industrial enhancements, diseaseresistance, insect resistance, herbicide resistance and yieldenhancements. The trait of interest is transferred from the donor parentto the recurrent parent, in this case, the canola plant disclosedherein. Single-gene traits may result from the transfer of either adominant allele or a recessive allele. Selection of progeny containingthe trait of interest is done by direct selection for a trait associatedwith a dominant allele. Selection of progeny for a trait that istransferred via a recessive allele will require growing and selfing thefirst backcross to determine which plants carry the recessive alleles.Recessive traits may require additional progeny testing in successivebackcross generations to determine the presence of the gene of interest.

It should be understood that the canola varieties disclosed herein,through routine manipulation by cytoplasmic genes, nuclear genes, orother factors, can be produced in a male-sterile or restorer form.Canola variety 18UU2731R can be manipulated to be male sterile by any ofa number of methods known in the art, including by the use of mechanicalmethods, chemical methods, self-incompatibility (SI), cytoplasmic malesterility (CMS) (either Ogura or another system), or nuclear malesterility (NMS). The term “manipulated to be male sterile” refers to theuse of any available techniques to produce a male sterile version ofcanola variety 18UU2731R. The male sterility may be either partial orcomplete male sterility. Also disclosed are seed and plants produced bythe use of Canola variety 18UU2731R. Canola variety 18UU2731R can alsofurther comprise a component for fertility restoration of a male sterileplant, such as an Rf restorer gene. In this case, canola variety18UU2731R could then be used as the male plant in seed production.

Also provided is the use of 18UU2731R in tissue culture. As used herein,the term plant includes plant protoplasts, plant cell tissue culturesfrom which canola plants can be regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps,and plant cells that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such asembryos, pollen, ovules, seeds, flowers, leaves, husks, stalks, roots,root tips, anthers and the like.

The utility of canola variety 18UU2731R also extends to crosses withother species. Commonly, suitable species include those of the familyBrassicae.

The advent of new molecular biological techniques has allowed theisolation and characterization of genetic elements with specificfunctions, such as encoding specific protein products. Any DNAsequences, whether from a different species or from the same speciesthat are inserted into the genome using transformation are referred toherein collectively as “transgenes”. Transformed versions of the claimedcanola variety 18UU2731R are provided in which transgenes are inserted,introgressed or achieved through genetic modification of nativesequences.

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed, includingbiological and physical plant transformation protocols. In addition,expression vectors and in vitro culture methods for plant cell or tissuetransformation and regeneration of plants are available.

In general, methods to transform, modify, edit or alter plant endogenousgenomic DNA include altering the plant native DNA sequence or apre-existing transgenic sequence including regulatory elements, codingand non-coding sequences. These methods can be used, for example, totarget nucleic acids to pre-engineered target recognition sequences inthe genome. Such pre-engineered target sequences may be introduced bygenome editing or modification. As an example, a genetically modifiedplant variety is generated using “custom” or engineered endonucleasessuch as meganucleases produced to modify plant genomes (see e.g., WO2009/114321; Gao et al. (2010) Plant Journal 1:176-187). Anothersite-directed engineering method is through the use of zinc fingerdomain recognition coupled with the restriction properties ofrestriction enzyme. See e.g., Urnov, et al., (2010) Nat Rev Genet.11(9):636-46; Shukla, et al., (2009) Nature 459 (7245):437-41. Atranscription activator-like (TAL) effector-DNA modifying enzyme (TALEor TALEN) is also used to engineer changes in plant genome. See e.g.,US20110145940, Cermak et al., (2011) Nucleic Acids Res. 39(12) and Bochet al., (2009), Science 326(5959): 1509-12. Site-specific modificationof plant genomes can also be performed using the bacterial type IICRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas(CRISPR-associated) system. See e.g., Belhaj et al., (2013), PlantMethods 9: 39; The Cas9/guide RNA-based system allows targeted cleavageof genomic DNA guided by a customizable small noncoding RNA in plants(see e.g., WO 2015026883A1).

Plant transformation methods may involve the construction of anexpression vector. Such a vector comprises a DNA sequence that containsa gene under the control of or operatively linked to a regulatoryelement, for example a promoter. The vector may contain one or moregenes and one or more regulatory elements.

One or more traits which may be modified or introduced in the plants andmethods disclosed herein include male sterility, herbicide resistance,insect resistance, pest resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism,modified carbohydrate metabolism, modified seed yield, modified oilpercent, modified protein percent, modified lodging resistance andmodified resistance to bacterial disease, fungal disease or viraldisease.

A genetic trait which has been engineered or modified into a particularcanola plant using transformation techniques could be moved into anotherline using traditional breeding techniques that are well known in theplant breeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be usedto move a transgene from a transformed canola plant to an elite inbredline and the resulting progeny would comprise a transgene. Also, if aninbred line was used for the transformation then the transgenic plantscould be crossed to a different line in order to produce a transgenichybrid canola plant. As used herein, “crossing” can refer to a simple Xby Y cross, or the process of backcrossing, depending on the context.Various genetic elements can be introduced into the plant genome usingtransformation. These elements include but are not limited to genes;coding sequences; inducible, constitutive, and tissue specificpromoters; enhancing sequences; and signal and targeting sequences.

Transgenic and modified plants described herein can produce a foreign ormodified protein in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques for theselection and propagation of transformed plants, which are wellunderstood in the art, may yield a plurality of transgenic or modifiedplants which are harvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign ormodified protein then can be extracted from a tissue of interest or fromtotal biomass.

A genetic map can be generated, primarily via conventional RestrictionFragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)analysis, Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs), which identifies the approximate chromosomallocation of the integrated DNA molecule coding for the foreign protein.Map information concerning chromosomal location is useful forproprietary protection of a subject transgenic plant. If unauthorizedpropagation is undertaken and crosses made with other germplasm, the mapof the integration region can be compared to similar maps for suspectplants, to determine if the latter have a common parentage with thesubject plant. Map comparisons would involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR,SSR, SNP, and sequencing, all of which are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present discovery, plants can be geneticallyengineered to express various phenotypes of agronomic interest.Exemplary transgenes implicated in this regard include, but are notlimited to, those categorized below.

1. Genes that confer resistance to pests or disease and that encode:

1. Genes that confer resistance to pests or disease and that encode:

(A) Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activatedby specific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene(R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr)gene in the pathogen. A plant variety can be transformed with clonedresistance gene to engineer plants that are resistant to specificpathogen strains. A plant resistant to a disease is one that is moreresistant to a pathogen as compared to the wild type plant.

(B) A gene conferring resistance to fungal pathogens.

(C) A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or asynthetic polypeptide modeled thereon. DNA molecules encodingdelta-endotoxin genes can be purchased from American Type CultureCollection (Manassas, Va.), for example, under ATCC Accession Nos.40098, 67136, 31995 and 31998. Other examples of Bacillus thuringiensistransgenes are given in the following US and international patents andapplications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,188,960; 5,689,052; 5,880,275; WO91/114778; WO 99/31248; WO 01/12731; WO 99/24581; WO 97/40162.

(D) An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid andjuvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or anantagonist or agonist thereof.

(E) An insect-specific peptide which, upon expression, disrupts thephysiology of the affected pest. For example, DNA coding for insectdiuretic hormone receptor, allostatins and genes encodinginsect-specific, paralytic neurotoxins.

(F) An enzyme responsible for a hyperaccumulation of a monterpene, asesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivativeor another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

(G) An enzyme involved in the modification, including thepost-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; forexample, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme,a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, aphosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, achitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCTApplication No. WO 93/02197, which discloses the nucleotide sequence ofa callase gene. DNA molecules which contain chitinase-encoding sequencescan be obtained, for example, from the ATCC under Accession Nos. 39637and 67152. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,020.

(H) A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example,nucleotide sequences encoding calmodulin.

(I) A hydrophobic moment peptide. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,580,852 and5,607,914.

(J) A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. Forexample, a cecropin-beta lytic peptide analog.

(K) A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. Forexample, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plantcells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease developmenteffected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, aswell as by related viruses. Coat protein-mediated resistance has beenconferred upon transformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumbermosaic virus, tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y,tobacco etch virus, tobacco rattle virus and tobacco mosaic virus.

(L) An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom.Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in theinsect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect.

(M) A virus-specific antibody. For example, transgenic plants expressingrecombinant antibody genes can be protected from virus attack.

(N) A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogenor a parasite; for example, fungal endo alpha-1,4-D-polygalacturonases.

(O) A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant.

(P) Genes involved in the Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) Responseand/or the pathogenesis related genes.

(Q) Antifungal genes.

(R) Detoxification genes, such as for fumonisin, beauvericin,moniliformin and zearalenone and their structurally related derivatives.For example, see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,931.

Cystatin and cysteine proteinase inhibitors. E.g., U.S. Pat. No.7,205,453.

Defensin genes.

(U) Genes that confer resistance to Phytophthora Root Rot, such as theBrassica equivalents of the Rps 1, Rps 1-a, Rps 1-b, Rps 1-c, Rps 1-d,Rps 1-e, Rps 1-k, Rps 2, Rps 3-a, Rps 3-b, Rps 3-c, Rps 4, Rps 5, Rps 6,Rps 7 and other Rps genes.

2. Genes that confer resistance to a herbicide, for example:

(A) A herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as animidazalinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category codefor mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,011;5,013,659; 5,141,870; 5,767,361; 5,731,180; 5,304,732; 4,761,373;5,331,107; 5,928,937 and 5,378,824.

(B) Glyphosate (resistance imparted by mutant5-enolpyruvl-3-phosphikimate synthase (EPSP) and aroA genes,respectively) and other phosphono compounds such as glufosinate(phosphinothricin acetyl transferase, PAT) and Streptomyceshygroscopicus phosphinothricin-acetyl transferase, bar, genes), andpyridinoxy or phenoxy propionic acids and cycloshexones (ACCaseinhibitor-encoding genes). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835,which discloses the nucleotide sequence of a form of EPSP which canconfer glyphosate resistance. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 7,405,074, andrelated applications, which disclose compositions and means forproviding glyphosate resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,061 describes genesencoding EPSPS enzymes. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,566,587; 6,338,961;6,248,876; 6,040,497; 5,804,425; 5,633,435; 5,145,783; 4,971,908;5,312,910; 5,188,642; 4,940,835; 5,866,775; 6,225,114; 6,130,366;5,310,667; 4,535,060; 4,769,061; 5,633,448; 5,510,471; Re. 36,449; RE37,287 E; and 5,491,288; and international publications EP1173580; WO01/66704; EP1173581 and EP1173582. A DNA molecule encoding a mutant aroAgene can be obtained under ATCC Accession No. 39256, see U.S. Pat. No.4,769,061. European Patent Application No. 0 333 033, and U.S. Pat. No.4,975,374 disclose nucleotide sequences of glutamine synthetase geneswhich confer resistance to herbicides such as L-phosphinothricin. Thenucleotide sequence of a phosphinothricin-acetyl-transferase gene isprovided in European Application No. 0 242 246. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,969,213; 5,489,520; 5,550,318; 5,874,265; 5,919,675; 5,561,236;5,648,477; 5,646,024; 6,177,616 and 5,879,903. Exemplary of genesconferring resistance to phenoxy propionic acids and cycloshexones, suchas sethoxydim and haloxyfop, are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2 and Acc1-S3 genes.See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,188,642; 5,352,605; 5,530,196; 5,633,435;5,717,084; 5,728,925; 5,804,425 and Canadian Patent No. 1,313,830.

(C) A herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbAand gs+ genes) and a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Nucleotide sequencesfor nitrilase genes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648, and DNAmolecules containing these genes are available under ATCC Accession Nos.53435, 67441 and 67442.

(D) Acetohydroxy acid synthase, which has been found to make plants thatexpress this enzyme resistant to multiple types of herbicides, has beenintroduced into a variety of plants. Other genes that confer toleranceto herbicides include: a gene encoding a chimeric protein of ratcytochrome P4507A1 and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase, genesfor glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase, and genes forvarious phosphotransferases.

(E) Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) is necessary for the productionof chlorophyll, which is necessary for all plant survival. The protoxenzyme serves as the target for a variety of herbicidal compounds. Theseherbicides also inhibit growth of all the different species of plantspresent, causing their total destruction. The development of plantscontaining altered protox activity which are resistant to theseherbicides are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,306; 6,282,837; and5,767,373; and international publication WO 01/12825.

3. Transgenes that confer or contribute to an altered graincharacteristic, such as:

(A) Altered fatty acids, for example, by

(1) Down-regulation of stearoyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearic acidcontent of the plant. See, WO99/64579,

(2) Elevating oleic acid via FAD-2 gene modification and/or decreasinglinolenic acid via FAD-3 gene modification, See, U.S. Pat. Nos.6,063,947; 6,323,392; 6,372,965 and WO 93/11245,

(3) Altering conjugated linolenic or linoleic acid content, such as inWO 01/12800,

(4) Altering LEC1, AGP, Dek1, Superal1, mi1ps, various Ipa genes such asIpa1, Ipa3, hpt or hggt. For example, see WO 02/42424, WO 98/22604, WO03/011015, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,423,886, 6,197,561, 6,825,397, US PatentApplication Publication Nos. 2003/0079247, 2003/0204870, WO02/057439,WO03/011015.(B) Altered phosphorus content, for example, by the(1) Introduction of a phytase-encoding gene would enhance breakdown ofphytate, adding more free phosphate to the transformed plant, such asfor example, using an Aspergillus niger phytase gene.(2) Up-regulation of a gene that reduces phytate content.(C) Altered carbohydrates effected, for example, by altering a gene foran enzyme that affects the branching pattern of starch, a gene alteringthioredoxin. (See, U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,648). Exemplary genes includethose encoding fructosyltransferase, levansucrase, alpha-amylase,invertase, branching enzyme II, UDP-D-xylose 4-epimerase, Fragile 1 and2, Ref1, HCHL (4-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase/lyase), C4H (cinnamate4-hydroxylase), AGP (ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase). The fatty acidmodification genes may also be used to affect starch content and/orcomposition through the interrelationship of the starch and oilpathways.(D) Altered antioxidant content or composition, such as alteration oftocopherol or tocotrienols. For example, see, U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,683,US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0034886 and WO 00/68393involving the manipulation of antioxidant levels through alteration of aphytl prenyl transferase (ppt), WO 03/082899 through alteration of ahomogentisate geranyl geranyl transferase (hggt).(E) Altered essential seed amino acids. For example, see, U.S. Pat. No.6,127,600 (method of increasing accumulation of essential amino acids inseeds), U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,913 (binary methods of increasingaccumulation of essential amino acids in seeds), U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,389(high lysine), WO99/40209 (alteration of amino acid compositions inseeds), WO99/29882 (methods for altering amino acid content ofproteins), U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,016 (alteration of amino acidcompositions in seeds), WO98/20133 (proteins with enhanced levels ofessential amino acids), U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,802 (high methionine), U.S.Pat. No. 5,885,801 (high threonine), U.S. Pat. No. 6,664,445 (plantamino acid biosynthetic enzymes), U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,019 (increasedlysine and threonine), U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,274 (plant tryptophansynthase beta subunit), U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,403 (methionine metabolicenzymes), U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,599 (high sulfur), U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,414(increased methionine), WO98/56935 (plant amino acid biosyntheticenzymes), WO98/45458 (engineered seed protein having higher percentageof essential amino acids), WO98/42831 (increased lysine), U.S. Pat. No.5,633,436 (increasing sulfur amino acid content), U.S. Pat. No.5,559,223 (synthetic storage proteins with defined structure containingprogrammable levels of essential amino acids for improvement of thenutritional value of plants), WO96/01905 (increased threonine),WO95/15392 (increased lysine), US Patent Application Publication No.2003/0163838, US Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0150014, USPatent Application Publication No. 2004/0068767, U.S. Pat. No.6,803,498, WO01/79516, and WO00/09706 (Ces A: cellulose synthase), U.S.Pat. No. 6,194,638 (hemicellulose), U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,859 and USPatent Application Publication No. 2004/0025203 (UDPGdH), U.S. Pat. No.6,194,638 (RGP).4. Genes that control pollination, hybrid seed production, ormale-sterility:

There are several methods of conferring genetic male sterilityavailable, such as multiple mutant genes at separate locations withinthe genome that confer male sterility, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,654,465 and 4,727,219 and chromosomal translocations, see U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,861,709 and 3,710,511. U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,068 describes a systemof nuclear male sterility which includes replacing the native promoterof an essential male fertility gene with an inducible promoter to createa male sterile plant that can have fertility restored by inducing orturning “on”, the promoter such that the male fertility gene istranscribed.

(A) Introduction of a deacetylase gene under the control of atapetum-specific promoter and with the application of the chemicalN—Ac-PPT (WO 01/29237).

(B) Introduction of various stamen-specific promoters (WO 92/13956, WO92/13957).

(C) Introduction of the barnase and the barstar gene.

For additional examples of nuclear male and female sterility systems andgenes, see also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,859,341; 6,297,426; 5,478,369;5,824,524; 5,850,014 and 6,265,640.

Also see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,041 (relating to a method for thepreparation of a seed of a plant comprising crossing a male sterileplant and a second plant which is male fertile), U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,859(molecular methods of hybrid seed production) and U.S. Pat. No.6,037,523 (use of male tissue-preferred regulatory region in mediatingfertility).

5. Genes that create a site for site specific DNA integration.

This includes the introduction of FRT sites that may be used in theFLP/FRT system and/or Lox sites that may be used in the Cre/Loxp system.Other systems that may be used include the Gin recombinase of phage Mu,the Pin recombinase of E. coli, and the R/RS system of the pSR1 plasmid.

6. Genes that affect abiotic stress resistance (including but notlimited to flowering, ear and seed development, enhancement of nitrogenutilization efficiency, altered nitrogen responsiveness, droughtresistance or tolerance, cold resistance or tolerance, and saltresistance or tolerance) and increased yield under stress.

For example, see, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,892,009, 5,965,705, 5,929,305,5,891,859, 6,417,428, 6,664,446, 6,706,866, 6,717,034, 6,801,104. CBFgenes and transcription factors effective in mitigating the negativeeffects of freezing, high salinity, and drought on plants can be used.Altering abscisic acid in plants may result in increased yield and/orincreased tolerance to abiotic stress. Modifying cytokinin expressionmay result in plants with increased drought tolerance, and/or increasedyield. Enhancement of nitrogen utilization and altered nitrogenresponsiveness can be carried out. Ethylene alteration, planttranscription factors or transcriptional regulators of abiotic stressmay be used. Other genes and transcription factors that affect plantgrowth and agronomic traits such as yield, flowering, plant growthand/or plant structure, can be introduced or introgressed into plants.

Seed Cleaning and Conditioning

Disclosed are methods for producing cleaned canola seed by cleaning seedof variety 18UU2731R. “Cleaning a seed” or “seed cleaning” refers to theremoval of foreign material from the surface of the seed. Foreignmaterial to be removed from the surface of the seed includes but is notlimited to fungi, bacteria, insect material, including insect eggs,larvae, and parts thereof, and any other pests that exist on the surfaceof the seed. The terms “cleaning a seed” or “seed cleaning” also referto the removal of any debris or low quality, infested, or infected seedsand seeds of different species that are foreign to the sample.Conditioning the seed is understood in the art to include controllingthe temperature and rate of dry down of the seed, such as by adding orremoving moisture from the seed and storing seed in a controlledtemperature environment.

Seed Treatment

“Treating a seed” or “applying a treatment to a seed” refers to theapplication of a composition to a seed as a coating or powder. Thecomposition may be applied to the seed in a seed treatment at any timefrom harvesting of the seed to sowing of the seed. Methods for producinga treated seed include the step of applying a composition to the seed orseed surface. The composition may be applied using methods including butnot limited to mixing in a container, mechanical application, tumbling,spraying, misting, and immersion. Thus, the composition may be appliedas a slurry, a mist, or a soak. The composition to be used as a seedtreatment can include one or more of a chemical or biologicalherbicides, herbicide or other safeners, insecticides, fungicides,germination inhibitors and enhancers, nutrients, plant growth regulatorsand activators, bactericides, nematicides, avicides and/ormolluscicides. These compounds are typically formulated together withfurther carriers, surfactants or application-promoting adjuvantscustomarily employed in the art of formulation. The coatings may beapplied by impregnating propagation material with a liquid formulationor by coating with a combined wet or dry formulation.

Some seed treatments that may be used on crop seed include, but are notlimited to, one or more of abscisic acid, acibenzolar-S-methyl,avermectin, amitrol, azaconazole, azospirillum, azadirachtin,azoxystrobin, Bacillus spp. (including one or more of cereus, firmus,megaterium, pumilis, sphaericus, subtilis and/or thuringiensis),Bradyrhizobium spp. (including one or more of betae, canariense,elkanii, iriomotense, japonicum, liaonigense, pachyrhizi and/oryuanmingense), captan, carboxin, chitosan, clothianidin, copper,cyazypyr, difenoconazole, etidiazole, fipronil, fludioxonil,fluoxastrobin, fluquinconazole, flurazole, fluxofenim, harpin protein,imazalil, imidacloprid, ipconazole, isoflavenoids,lipo-chitooligosaccharide, mancozeb, manganese, maneb, mefenoxam,metalaxyl, metconazole, myclobutanil, PCNB (EPA registration number00293500419, containing quintozen and terrazole), penflufen,penicillium, penthiopyrad, permethrine, picoxystrobin, prothioconazole,pyraclostrobin, rynaxypyr, S-metolachlor, saponin, sedaxane, TCMTB(2-(thiocyanomethylthio) benzothiazole), tebuconazole, thiabendazole,thiamethoxam, thiocarb, thiram, tolclofos-methyl, triadimenol,trichoderma, trifloxystrobin, triticonazole and/or zinc.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Processing the seed harvested from the plants described herein caninclude one or more of cleaning, conditioning, wet milling, dry millingand sifting harvested seeds. The seed of variety 18UU2731R, the plantproduced from such seed, various parts of the 18UU2731R hybrid canolaplant or its progeny, a canola plant produced from the crossing of the18UU2731R variety, and the resulting seed and grain produced thereon,can be utilized in the production of an edible vegetable oil, meal otherfood products or silage for animal feed in accordance with knowntechniques. The oil as removed from the seeds can be used in foodapplications such as a salad or frying oil. Canola oil has low levels ofsaturated fatty acids. “Canola” refers to rapeseed (Brassica) which (1)has an erucic acid (C22:1) content of at most 2% (preferably at most0.5% or 0%) by weight based on the total fatty acid content of a seed,and (2) produces, after crushing, an air-dried meal containing less than30 μmol glucosinolates per gram of defatted (oil-free) meal. The oilalso finds utility in industrial applications. The solid meal componentderived from seeds after oil extraction can be used as a nutritiouslivestock feed. Examples of canola grain as a commodity plant productinclude, but are not limited to, oils and fats, meals and protein, andcarbohydrates. Methods of processing seeds and grain produced by18UU2731R to produce commodity products such as oil and protein meal areprovided. Plants and plant parts described herein can be processed toproduce products such as biodiesel, plastics, protein isolates,adhesives and sealants.

Deposit

Applicant has made a deposit of at least 625 seeds of parental canolainbred variety G5264590R with the American Type Culture Collection(ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209 USA, withATCC Deposit No. PTA-126274 and parental canola inbred variety G2373305with the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae andMicrobiota (NCMA), 60 Bigelow Drive, East Boothbay, Me. 04544, USA, withNCMA deposit No. 202106045. The seeds deposited with the ATCC on Oct.15, 2019 for PTA-126274 and with the NCMA on Jun. 17, 2021 for202106045, were obtained from the seed of the variety maintained byAgrigenetics Inc. since prior to the filing date of this application.Access to this seed will be available during the pendency of theapplication to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks and personsdetermined by the Commissioner to be entitled thereto upon request. Uponissuance of any claims in the application, the Applicant will makeavailable to the public, pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 1.808, a sample(s) ofthe deposit of at least 625 seeds of parental canola inbred varietiesG5264590R and G2373305 with the ATCC or NCMA, respectively. The depositsof the seed of parental canola inbred varieties for hybrid canolavariety 18UU2731R will be maintained in the ATCC or NCMA depository,which are public depositories, for a period of 30 years, or 5 yearsafter the most recent request, or for the enforceable life of thepatent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it becomesnonviable during that period. Additionally, Applicant has or willsatisfy all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.801-1.809, includingproviding an indication of the viability of the sample upon deposit.Applicant has no authority to waive any restrictions imposed by law onthe transfer of biological material or its transportation in commerce.Applicant does not waive any infringement of the rights granted underthis patent or rights applicable to hybrid canola variety 18UU2731Rand/or its parental canola inbred varieties G5264590R and G2373305 undereither the patent laws or the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC 2321et seq.). Unauthorized seed multiplication is prohibited.

Example 1: Varietal Characteristics

Variety 18UU2731R has shown uniformity and stability for all traits, asdescribed in the following variety description information. The varietyhas been increased with continued observation for uniformity.

Table 1 provides data on morphological, agronomic, and quality traitsfor 18UU2731R. When preparing the detailed phenotypic information,plants of the new 18UU2731R variety were observed while being grownusing conventional agronomic practices.

TABLE 1 Variety Descriptions based on Morphological, Agronomic andQuality Trait CHARACTER SCORE STATE SEED Erucic acid content Low (<0.5%)Glucosinolate content Low (<20 μm) Seed coat color 1 Black SEEDLINGcotyledon width 5 Medium seedling growth 5 Medium Rosette Stemanthocyanin intensity 1 Absent to Very weak Lodging resistance 5 FairLEAF leaf lobes number of leaf lobes 5 leaf margin indentation 7 Strongleaf margin shape 3 Sharp leaf blade color 2 Medium Green leafglaucosity leaf attachment to stem leaf surface leaf waxiness 1 absentleaf width 5 Medium leaf length 6 Medium to long petiole length 6 Mediumto long PLANT GROWTH AND FLOWER Time to flowering 52 (number of daysfrom planting to 50% of plants showing one or more open flowers) Plantheight at maturity (cm) 121 Plant growth habit Flower bud location Petalcolor 3 Medium yellow Anther fertility 9 All Anthers shedding pollen(may exhibit up to 10% sterile plants) Petal spacing 6 Touching toSlight Overlap PODS AND MATURITY Pod type Pod length 5 Medium Pod width5 Medium Pod habit Pod beak length 5 Medium Pedicle length 6 Medium toLong Pod angle 4 Semi-erect to Horizontal Time to maturity (no. daysfrom planting to physiological maturity) HERBICIDE TOLERANCEGlufonsinate 9 Susceptible Glyphosate 1 Tolerant Imidazolinone 9Susceptible QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS Oil content % (whole dry seed 46.17basis) Protein content (percentage, 50.8 whole oil-free dry seed basis)Total saturated fats content 6.51 Glucosinolates (μm total 2 10-15 μmolper gram glucosinolates/gram whole seed, 8.5% moisture basis) SeedChlorophyll

Example 2: Agronomic Performance of 18UU2731R

Two years of trials were conducted. WCC/RRC guidelines were followed forconducting trials and for analyzing quality parameters. Yield andagronomic traits were recorded. Seed samples were analyzed using NIR(near infrared spectroscopy). Oil and protein were expressed at zeromoisture while total glucosinolates were expressed at 8.50 moisture.Fatty acid analysis was done using gas chromatography.

TABLE 2 Summary of Performance of 18UU2731R in two years of Co-opTesting Lodging Oleic Linolenic Score Plant Oil % @ Protein % Acid TotalTotal Acid- Acid- Yield Yield Days to (1 = poor, Height zero (oilDetergent Glucs Saturated 18:1 18:3 Variety (q/ha) % Maturity 9 = best)(cm) Moisture free) Fibre % (umol/g) Fat (%) (%) (%) 18UU2731R   31.3   92.5 103.2 6.5   118   49.0 50.2 16.8 12.5 6.4 73.9 2.8 L233P   34.4  101.7  96.9 6.5   115   47.7 44.9 21.4 13.4 6.5 65.6 8.7 45H33   33.3   98.3  97.3 6.7   122   48.4 45.3 20.5 16.6 6.5 63.8 8.8 Check Avg.  33.9   100.0  97.1 6.6   118.5 48.0 45.1 21.0 15.0 6.5 64.7 8.7 Diff.from  −2.5   −7.5   6.1 −0.1     −0.5  1.0  5.2  −4.2    −2.4   0.0  9.2−6.0   Check

Example 3: Blackleg Tolerance

Blackleg tolerance was measured following the standard proceduredescribed in the Procedures of the Western Canada Canola/RapeseedRecommending Committee (WCC/RRC) Incorporated for the Evaluation andRecommendation for Registration of Canola/Rapeseed Candidate Cultivarsin Western Canada. Blackleg was rated on a scale of 0 to 5: a plant withzero rating is completely immune to disease while a plant with “5”rating is dead due to blackleg infection.

Canola variety “Westar” was included as an entry/control in eachblackleg trial. Tests are considered valid when the mean rating forWestar is greater than or equal to 2.6 and less than or equal to 4.5.(In years when there is poor disease development in Western Canada theWCC/RRC may accept the use of data from trials with a rating for Westarexceeding 2.0.)

The ratings are converted to a percentage severity index for each line,and the following scale is used to describe the level of resistance:

Classification Rating (% of Westar) R (Resistant) <30 MR (ModeratelyResistant) 30-49 MS (Moderately Susceptible) 50-69 S (Susceptible) 70-89HS (Highly Susceptible)  90-100

TABLE 3 Summary of Blackleg Ratings for 18UU2731R BLACKLEG SCORE (0-5) 2Year Ave % Westar Class 18UU2731R 0.4 11.1 R Westar 3.3 100.0All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thespecification are incorporated by reference herein for the purpose citedto the same extent as if each was specifically and individuallyindicated to be incorporated by reference herein.

The foregoing invention has been described in detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding. Asis readily apparent to one skilled in the art, the foregoing are onlysome of the methods and compositions that illustrate the embodiments ofthe foregoing invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art that variations, changes, modifications, and alterations maybe applied to the compositions and/or methods described herein withoutdeparting from the true spirit, concept, and scope of the invention.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having,” “contains”, “containing,” “characterizedby” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover anon-exclusive inclusion.

Unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” is used as an inclusiveterm. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of thefollowing: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A isfalse (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B aretrue (or present). The indefinite articles “a” and “an” preceding anelement or component are nonrestrictive regarding the number ofinstances (i.e., occurrences) of the element or component. Therefore “a”or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and the singularword form of the element or component also includes the plural unlessthe number is obviously meant to be singular.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seed of hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R,representative seed produced by crossing a first plant of varietyG5264590R with a second plant of variety G2373305, whereinrepresentative seed of the varieties G5264590R and G2373305 have beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-126274 and NCMA AccessionNumber 202106045, respectively.
 2. A plant or plant part of hybridcanola variety 18UU2731R grown from the seed of claim 1, wherein theplant part comprises at least one cell of hybrid canola variety18UU2731R.
 3. A method of producing the seed of claim 1, the methodcomprising crossing a plant of variety G5264590R with a plant of varietyG2373305.
 4. A seed of hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R, representativeseed produced by crossing a first plant of variety G5264590R with asecond plant of variety G2373305, wherein representative seed of thevarieties G5264590R and G2373305 have been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-126274 and NCMA Accession Number 202106045,respectively, further comprising a transgene, wherein the transgene isintroduced by backcrossing or genetic transformation into the varietyG5264590R, the variety G2373305, or both varieties G5264590R andG2373305.
 5. A seed of hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R furthercomprising a locus conversion, wherein a plant grown from the seedcomprises a trait conferred by the locus conversion, and wherein theseed is produced by crossing a first plant of variety G5264590R with asecond plant of variety G2373305, wherein the first plant, the secondplant or both further comprise the locus conversion, and whereinrepresentative seed of the varieties G5264590R and G2373305 have beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-126274 and NCMA AccessionNumber 202106045, respectively, and wherein the seed produces a planthaving otherwise all the physiological and morphological characteristicsas hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.
 6. The hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R seed ofclaim 5, wherein the locus conversion confers a property selected fromthe group consisting of male sterility, a site for site-specificrecombination, abiotic stress tolerance, altered phosphate, alteredantioxidants, altered fatty acids, altered essential amino acids,altered carbohydrates, herbicide resistance, insect resistance anddisease resistance.
 7. The hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R seed of claim5, further comprising a seed treatment on the surface of the seed.
 8. Amethod for producing nucleic acids, the method comprising isolatingnucleic acids from the hybrid canola variety 18UU2731R seed of claim 5.9. A plant or plant part grown from the hybrid canola variety 18UU2731Rseed of claim 5, the plant part comprising at least one cell of hybridcanola variety 18UU2731R further comprising the locus conversion.
 10. Amethod of producing a commodity plant product comprising carbohydrate,silage, oil or protein, the method comprising producing the commodityplant product from the plant or plant part of claim
 9. 11. A method forproducing a second canola plant, the method comprising applying plantbreeding techniques to the plant or plant part of claim 9 to produce thesecond canola plant.
 12. A method for producing a hybrid canola variety18UU2731R seed of claim 4, the method comprising crossing a first plantof variety G5264590R with a second plant of variety G2373305,representative seed of the varieties G5264590R and G2373305 have beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-126274 and NCMA AccessionNumber 202106045, respectively, wherein at least one of the varietiesG5264590R and G2373305 further comprises the transgene.
 13. The seed ofclaim 4, further comprising a seed treatment on the surface of the seed.14. The seed of claim 4, wherein the transgene confers a propertyselected from the group consisting of male sterility, a site forsite-specific recombination, abiotic stress tolerance, alteredphosphate, altered antioxidants, altered fatty acids, altered essentialamino acids, altered carbohydrates, herbicide resistance, insectresistance and disease resistance.
 15. A method for producing nucleicacids, the method comprising isolating nucleic acids from the seed ofclaim
 4. 16. A plant or plant part produced by growing the seed of claim4, the plant part comprising at least one F1 hybrid canola variety18UU2731R cell further comprising the transgene.
 17. A method forproducing nucleic acids, the method comprising isolating nucleic acidsfrom the plant or plant part of claim
 16. 18. A method of producing acommodity plant product comprising carbohydrate, silage, oil or protein,the method comprising producing the commodity plant product from theplant or plant part of claim
 16. 19. A method for producing a secondcanola plant, the method comprising crossing the canola plant or plantpart of claim 16 with itself or with a different canola plant.
 20. Amethod for producing nucleic acids, the method comprising isolatingnucleic acids from the plant or plant part of claim 9.